Preschool Activities About Leaves
Fun Crafts and Other Activities for an Early Years Classroom
Sep 14, 2009
During the fall months from September to December, trees provide countless crafts and activities for the classroom. Many changes occur to a tree during these months, in particular, the changing colours of the leaves from green to gold, brown or red. Here are a few exciting activities and books to celebrate the changing seasons.
Activities Using Leaves
Fall Hands Wreath: Children can trace hands on coloured construction paper. (Red, yellow, brown) Glue hands on a green construction paper circle alternating colours. This idea can also be used for a class wreath with children cutting out as many hands as possible and stapling on a bulletin board creating a large wreath.
Leaf Rubbings: Provide each child with a leaf, crayon and paper. Demonstrate how to hold a crayon lengthwise on the paper that is covering the leaf and rub the crayon on the paper. The leaf outline should be visible. Another idea is to make tree bark rubbings.
Leaf Art: Make an acorn and leaf craft. This is an adorable take home craft for preschoolers found at Mrs. Nelson Class.com.
KWL Chart: In a large group discussion, make a KWL chart of what the class knows about leaves, what the students want to learn about leaves and at the end of the until what the students learned about leaves.
Autumn Changes Web: As a class discuss the changes that occur during the fall. Some changes are people wear warmer clothing, leaves change colour, animals get ready for hibernation and children celebrate Halloween.
Classroom ResourcesThere are many books about leaves available at the local library. Borrowing books from a public library is a cost effective way for a teacher to provide a variety of reading materials for the classroom. Here are a few books about leaves to look for at the local library.
- We're Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steven Metzger, [Scholastic Inc, 2008]
- Fall Leaves Fall by Zoe Hall, [Scholastic Inc, 2000]
- Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert, [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005]
- Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert, [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1991]
Classroom activities with these books are endless. Take the class on a leaf hunt around the playyard or hide leaves around the room and have a leaf hunt in the classroom. Make a leaf man and have the art "run away". Go on a hunt around the school looking for the leaf men and who leave behind riddles for the next spot they could be hiding. A math pattern can me made with red and yellow construction paper leaves.
Another resource is Can Teach.ca when looking for songs and poems about leaves. This site contains material submitted by teachers for teachers to use in the classroom.
Warm Weather Year Round
For schools located in regions that have warm weather year round, a unit on fall leaves may be difficult. However, there is hope through the Internet. Most local Canadian television stations have outdoor web cameras. This is a wonderful opportunity for a class to view the leaves change colour and how seasonal changes affect trees.
There are many wonderful activities and crafts about leaves. Making a leaf person or a class wreath are great activities for a class. Making a chart to find about what the children already know about leaves can help guide the lessons and crafts of the unit. Even if a school is in an area that does not have seasonal changes, a student can still see leaves change colours over the Internet.
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